Earlier this year, the CNCS Office of Research & Evaluation (ORE) introduced recipients of the 2017 AmeriCorps State and National Evidence-based Intervention Planning Grants from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). At the start of the summer, we checked in with the grantees to get the latest scoop on their program planning and see what lessons they learned along the way.  

By now, most of the grantees’ planning periods have come to a close. For some, program development will carry on through continued efforts, while others have compiled their findings, which provide valuable guidance for other organizations seeking similar types of grants. With that, we conducted a final follow up with the grantees to hear about their latest program development updates, overall experience with their grants, and what’s next. 

Keep reading

The holiday season moves quickly, transitioning from friends-and-family time at Thanksgiving to the hustle and bustle of the holiday shopping season on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, we have the chance to remember the needs of others on Giving Tuesday.

Giving Tuesday began in 2012 on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving to elevate philanthropy and volunteering during the holiday season. This event is a fitting celebration for a country filled with generous people.

Keep reading

By Barbara Stewart 
CEO, Corporation for National and Community Service

Volunteering has been a part of the nation’s fabric even before the United States declared its independence 242 years ago. In the spirit of that ethic of service, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is proud to uphold the tradition of volunteering to keep America strong and make it a better place for all people. 

At CNCS, we are guided by a simple mission: to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. This year 300,000 AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers – ranging from teenagers to centenarians and every age in between – are giving their time and energy to address some of the nation’s greatest challenges. 

Keep reading

It’s been a few months since the Office of Research & Evaluation (ORE) first introduced the seven grantees who received 2017 AmeriCorps State and National Evidence-based Planning Grants from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Since then, the organizations have continued the planning process and begun early implementation of their programs that leverage AmeriCorps members to make a local impact and address pressing societal needs.

In our second blog, we catch up with these grantees to get the scoop on the progress made in program development, to understand their current priorities, and to learn about opportunities and obstacles they encountered along the way. 

Keep reading

In July 2006, Olivia Padilla and her family of four moved into a Habitat for Humanity house in Aurora, Colorado. Prior to moving in, they were living in a small apartment surrounded by an unsafe community in Metro Denver. It was a big deal for Olivia and her family to finally have a home.

“I was only 9 at the time, but I remember one of my happiest moments was learning that we were going to have our own backyard. My siblings and I would finally get bikes to ride around the neighborhood without feeling unsafe,“ says Olivia.

Olivia now serves in AmeriCorps NCCC, a national service program for young adults, ages 18 to 24 years old. Members are placed on teams of eight to 12 and serve on various projects throughout a specified region of the country for months at a time. AmeriCorps NCCC teams address community priorities like conservation, urban and rural development, and disaster response.

Keep reading

Adonnis Martinez, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, spent his childhood at the foot of the Black Hills in Rapid City, South Dakota. Raised by his grandparents and great- grandparents, he was told: “You either go to school or you work. There is no in-between or alternative.”  The emphasis on education has been in his family for generations. His great-grandmother and grandmother both attended college at the request of their family. Martinez says that without his family’s support, he wouldn’t be where he is today.

Keep reading

Last year, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) awarded 2017 AmeriCorps State and National Evidence-based Planning Grants to seven worthy organizations. The goal? To help these organizations develop their own national service programs with a focus on evidence and evaluation.

Evidence-based programming underscores the mission of CNCS’s Office of Research & Evaluation (ORE). We see program development as an iterative process, using evaluation and research as indicators for improving programs, impacting more lives, and building stronger communities. To that end, ORE helps further the school of evaluation by providing organizations with the resources and tools to incorporate evaluation into their own efforts.

Keep reading

By Debbie Basile, Project Director - Lutheran Foster Grandparent Program

It was Sunday morning and I began the usual routine: I stretched in bed; arms flung outward; groaned a bit; leisurely ambled my way to the bathroom. I scowled at myself in the mirror and completed the tasks at hand. I got dressed and went off to church.

Keep reading

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the land,
AmeriCorps members were driving, in a basic white van.
But their stockings weren’t hung; no, not with care.
They’re on a new mission, going to who knows where.

They had to be tired, many nodded their heads,
But when duty calls, everyone misses their beds,
This assignment was special, it came in a snap,
“Santa needs help; grab your boots, grab your cap!”

Keep reading

Q&A with AmeriCorps VISTA Alumna, Leader, and Afghan War Veteran
By Allyson Snell

This Veterans Day we are proud to spotlight Vanessa Moore, AmeriCorps VISTA member and Military Veteran who is using her national service experience to improve the lives of her fellow veterans. Vanessa was most recently the recipient of the 2017 Colorado Governor’s Award for “Outstanding AmeriCorps VISTA Member.

You served as a Medic in the Army National Guard. What brought you to AmeriCorps VISTA?

Many of my family members have served in the military, but it was nothing I had considered for my own career at first. Eight weeks in to medic training, I found out I was to be deployed to Afghanistan with an all-male company. Throughout the pre-mobilization period, I was told many times that I would never succeed in combat as a woman, and that it wasn’t my place. Being told that I couldn’t do something because I am a woman gave me the fire to prove everyone wrong.  

Keep reading

The Corporation for National and Community Service joins the Department of Veterans Affairs and the federal family during the commemoration of National Veterans and Military Families Month and Veterans Day on Saturday, Nov. 11 – a fitting tribute as we enter this season of thanks.

Some history first. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, an armistice went into effect, effectively signaling cessation of hostilities between Allied nations and Germany marking the end of World War I, “the war to end all wars.” 

President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11, 1919, as the first commemoration of Armistice Day – the precursor of Veterans Day in the United States – noting how the day should be observed:

“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America …" 

Our veterans are cut from a different cloth, serving as defenders of American principles and protectors of freedom around the globe. In peace and in wartime, each generation has accepted this responsibility by facing danger with unparalleled valor and taken on the challenges before them with an unbreakable spirit and will to complete their mission. 

Keep reading

I was serving in the field late one night
When my eyes beheld a spooky sight
White vans and khaki-clad people, arrived at my side
Next thing you know, to my surprise

They did the mash, they did the service mash
They did the mash, it was a community smash
They did the mash, they were done in a flash
They did the mash, they did the service mash

Keep reading

The Corporation for National and Community Service is pleased to share this press release from the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service, a new federal entity established by Congress last year.

Keep reading

CNCS leads effort to honor victims and heroes of September 11th

On Patriot Day, Americans commemorated the 16th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States by participating in service projects across the nation during the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is the federal agency that leads the nationwide effort to pay tribute to and honor the victims and heroes of 9/11.

Keep reading

By Carl Higbie, CNCS Chief of External Affairs

When terrorists attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, our nation was shaken but it was also awakened to a new reality. That day encouraged acts of heroism and bravery unlike any day many of us have ever seen. And it also became a clarion call for millions of Americans to engage in service, including me.

After 9/11, I answered that call through our nation’s military and became a U.S. Navy SEAL to serve on the frontlines of the war on terror. While thousands joined me on this path, others led efforts on the homefront engaging in other avenues of service to support our nation and its citizens.

Keep reading